Many laboratories and other testing facilities are currently available for blood, urine, liquid content, and other specimen testing procedures. Of these, a number of laboratories are testing for the presence of illegal substances, such as, for example, alcohol and drugs, or testing for health related purposes, such as cholesterol or blood sugar levels. Other laboratory tests are also becoming increasingly prevalent in the art.
For many specimen tests, a sample specimen is usually deposited in a sample container by a testable subject at a deposit site, and the sample container containing the specimen sample is delivered to a laboratory for further transfer of an aliquot or other portion of the specimen into a testing vial. The testing vial is then typically introduced into one or more machines for processing and analysis of the specimen.
Because the specimen is transferred into a testing vial, and because the laboratory analysis equipment may test a relatively large number of specimen samples, for example many laboratories test hundreds of specimen samples in a typical day of operation, there remains a concern for cross-contamination and general preservation of sample integrity. For this reason, the specimen collection and analysis field has trended towards automated equipment where feasible.
Additionally, the rapidly increasing costs associated with skilled laborers, and the recent federal tax incentives and other contributing factors have further increased demand for automated laboratory sampling and testing equipment.
One of the most tedious and contamination-susceptible tasks for a laborer to effectuate during a sampling and testing process is the sample container opening and closing protocol. The traditional method for opening and closing a sample container includes providing a laborer wearing gloves, the laborer gripping the sample container with his gloves and manually opening the container using his hands. This time-tested method has been known to result in a high risk for contamination. Often, pressure may build up within the sample container, and upon opening the container, a skilled laborer's glove may come into contact with microscopic spray, spills, or other sample contamination. If the unknowing laborer fails to change gloves, the subsequent sample containers may come into contact with the gloves to yield a cross-contamination. Accordingly, test results may further reflect a false positive and require further confirmation testing.
More recently, mechanical sample opening devices have become available, and the traditional manual opening methods are being replaced. Examples of the prior art lid opening devices are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,531,096, entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY OPENING AND CLOSING VIAL LIDS” by Deveney et. al, hereafter the '096 patent; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,578,494, entitled “CAP ACTUATOR FOR OPENING AND CLOSING A CONTAINER” by Clark et. al, hereafter the '494 patent; the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
One limitation with the mechanical sample opening device of the '096 patent includes the power requirements, bulk space, and contamination risk associated with processing a sample container throughout multiple stations. It would be beneficial to provide a lid opening device capable of opening the lid, performing an operation, and closing the lid in a single location. Another limitation with the '096 patent includes the use of pre-scoring elements, which can be sharp and therefore hazardous to the user.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an automated sample vial lid-actuator for opening, closing and ejecting a sample vial, the sample vial actuator including a means for opening and closing the lid of a sample vial while preserving the integrity of samples and minimizing contamination risks. The sample vial lid-actuator being further capable of efficient receipt and ejection of sample vials, and processing each sample vial in a single location for further minimizing the risk of contamination.